Has work changed forever: how to retrain

Finally in this series about how work has changed through the pandemic, I’m looking at how those whose jobs are at risk, or have already disappeared, might go about finding a new career. 

How easy is it to develop new skills, find out about growth sectors and more secure jobs locally, and how compatible is career change with social security support?

As I discussed previously, some groups and sectors have been more affected by the pandemic than others. For example, young people were most likely to be furloughed, with the workforce in pubs and bars being furloughed at the highest rate of all sectors in the UK. The highest peak in redundancy so far has been for 16-24 year olds, followed by 25-34 year olds. 

Although we’re yet to see the full picture of pandemic-induced redundancies before furlough ends later this year, many sectors have already seen redundancy rates of 20-30% over consecutive months, including manufacturing, accommodation and food services, admin and support, and other services. No doubt we’ll see more in the autumn and winter. For those who have lost their jobs, or may be about to, the path to identifying and entering a new career isn’t necessarily a simple one. 

So what do we know about career change, what helps and hinders? 

I recently completed an evidence review looking at just that, and there were some pretty clear success factors: one to one support and guidance, good information about the local labour market, direct links to employers in growth sectors with roles they need to fill, and flexible funding for individuals to cover costs like course fees or childcare while attending classes. 

Exploring a new sector might be essential if you’re leaving behind a role that is unlikely to ever bounce back to pre-pandemic levels. Some sectors have fared well over the last 15 months, such as public services and health and social care, and the latter in particular looks set to have a consistent need for new hires for the foreseeable future (notwithstanding issues around low pay and insecure contracts in some roles). 

So this would be a good place to look for a new career, right?

But how does someone know this, and what about regional variations and differences in urban or rural labour markets? Getting up-to-date information and effective, personally tailored advice and guidance is crucial, but not necessarily readily available. There is, for example, no real evidence that the Government-funded, flagship careers advice vehicle the National Careers Service achieves any significant improvement in either employment rate or reductions in benefit claims. 

The NCS did however achieve an increase in engagement with learning amongst those it supported. The evidence I looked at in my review suggests that more in-depth, longer term training, tailored towards specific roles within growth sectors, gives the best results for individuals looking to change career, particularly in long-term earnings increases. Unfortunately, for those already unemployed or on a low wage, this may be incompatible with the conditions imposed on them through Universal Credit, putting meaningful retraining out of reach.  

Does social security support retraining?

In May 2020 there were just under a million people on UC who were ‘working, with requirements’ which generally means they have been advised to do ‘all you can’ (in the words of gov.uk) to increase their earnings. If a specific action towards increasing your income is advised by DWP and you fail to carry it out you can be sanctioned (have your benefits stopped or reduced) until you complete the action, plus at least an additional 7 days. Sanctions can be handed out for failure to apply for or take a job that DWP deems to be suitable. 

Part-time students may be able to claim UC as long as the course is deemed to be compatible with the work they are seeking, although they will have to continue to carry out their work conditions alongside study, or risk sanctions.

This all places the jobseeker in a precarious and difficult to manage situation. They may want to retrain, but can’t access the right advice or information to choose the best course. They might need to claim benefits to stay afloat financially, but struggle to meet the work conditions alongside retraining, or be under pressure to take a job before they can finish a course.

They might also struggle to find a training programme that’s affordable: while there is now free training available for Level 3 qualifications (equivalent to A Levels), it’s only for people that don’t already have a Level 3. If you need to retrain after a long career for which you were well-qualified, chances are you might not be eligible. Around two-thirds of young people, who as we’ve seen have been among the worst affected, have a Level 3 by age 25. So while a significant number could benefit from the free training, many won’t, but will still need new skills to enter good quality jobs and careers.

This all points to the need for a large-scale, well-funded retraining offer, with broad eligibility and crucially, proper integration with UC and other benefits to allow people to focus on learning without worrying about losing their income. It needs to include one-to-one support, not just a website, and should be driven by local, not national needs. Pilots like the Learning & Work Institute’s New Futures will hopefully show us more about what works, but until they report their findings there is more to be done.

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(c) Anna Dent 2021. I provide research, writing, expert opinion and project development in Good Work and the Future of Work / Welfare benefits / Ethical technology / Skills